It got irrevocably sideways in America today. Today the sun came up, winked, turned left and just kept on going.
Today, Republican Senators and Representatives whined for the Democratic President to step in and tell them how to solve the debt crisis.
Today, a retired Philadelphia police captain was arrested protesting in uniform and right wing commentators denouncing him and his fellow protesters were beaten by the cops along with them and then, comforted by them in broad daylight in the streets of New York.
Today, "What the fuck?" really didn't cover it.
Today, in what was actually the weirdest, most orgasmically bizarre story of all, Newt motherfucking Gingrich polled out as the GOP frontrunner for, wait for it, President of the United States!
(we will pause here for you to finish laughing and jumping up and down and clapping)
Today, it was somehow actually possible to envision the country stirring and a TRUE 99%, made up of poor and middle class Republicans and Democrats congealing as more and more of us begin to see each other as neighbors and as complicit common victims of this vile troupe of backslapping swindlers who have been using the country as their collective ATM/Toilet for the last 30 years.
Today, it became evident that it might be time to figure out what the fuck we want.
That said, we have some thoughts. Let's call it a "jumping off place".
1. Outlaw Lobbying
2. Legalize Gay Marriage
3. Institute a Corporate Death Penalty (stock goes to zero & company operates going forward as a non-profit) and try British Petroleum & PG&E as the first corporate capital defendants. (BP trades on the NYSE)
4. Legalize Marijuana - rescue family farmers and supply the world with smoke and fiber (wood, paper, fabric)
5. End logging and the use of non-composite wood in all construction. (teach the loggers to grow weed)
6. Impose tariffs on foreign goods to counterbalance unfair labor practices abroad and bring technical and manufacturing jobs back to the US (an iPhone will cost 23% more, big whoop).
7. Adopt Universal Single Payer Healthcare. We spend twice as much as the next G7 country and have by far the worst results. 20% of the average family's income is spent on health insurance. That's obscene. Insurance is for cars. Health care is for people.
8. Tax corporations on their income. Tax people on their consumption.
9. Nationalize the offshore bank accounts of all American citizens and corporations after a discreet grace period, during which they may bring the money back into the U.S., pay taxes on it, and reinvest it in public works projects and/or bond it to school districts.
10. End all domestic oil and oil shale and oil sands exploration and outlaw the use of petroleum for terrestrial transportation of any kind after 2025. Current stocks and proven reserves will be able to handle the demand for medical and electronics plastics until a replacement is found.
That's just what we'd do and it's just a start. Nothing new about any of it really.
The new thing is that today, somehow, it feels almost possible.
